Thanks for the kind comments everyone, I really appreciate it. I am really loving this bike, can't wait to put more and more miles on it.

Calnago and SalsaLover -- the SLR Tekno Flow has been a bit of a mixed bag and I'm trying to put a few more miles on it before making up my mind. The cutout is huge, which is part of what I love. Definitely removes pressure on the soft areas. Salsa Lover - I find that my sit bones are able to find a place to perch, at least as well as they were in on the SLR Kit Carbonio. The shape and profile is very close to the Kit Carbonio as you can see in the pics below. Not sure if the nose is narrower or it just looks slightly so because the padding ends before the edges of the carbon shell underneath. Either way, the differences in nose are incredibly minor.

Tekno Flow on bottom, Carbonio on top

Side by Side

I've only been on one ride on it so far (and only for about 30 miles), but here are my early impressions:

PROsOverall, it is what I was looking for. It saves weight, removes pressure on delicate region even more, and supports my sit bones comfortably for short rides. It also looks good IMO. Need more time in the saddle to determine how it feels on longer rides.

CONs-Edges of saddle have no padding or leather wrapped around, leaving edges sharp. If my legs graze the saddle (I tend to keep my knees close together when pedaling), which doesn't happen often, instead of rubbing against soft fabric, they rub against sharp/brittle carbon/plastic/whatever. -Even though my sit bones have a comfortable place, the back of the saddle seems a bit narrower or a bit more round/less flat. It feels like I have a couple comfortable spots, but less flat area to slide around than the Carbonio. I wonder whether on a longer ride (50-60+ miles) this would be more wearing. Also the padding that is there is less plush than the Carbonio by a small amount.

It's a tradeoff because I do think it relieves some pressure on the soft regions, but gives me less comfort on the sit bones and fewer positions. I'm going to ride it for longer rides and give it a few weeks before making up my mind. Hope this helps.

CONs-Edges of saddle have no padding or leather wrapped around, leaving edges sharp. If my legs graze the saddle (I tend to keep my knees close together when pedaling), which doesn't happen often, instead of rubbing against soft fabric, they rub against sharp/brittle carbon/plastic/whatever. -Even though my sit bones have a comfortable place, the back of the saddle seems a bit narrower or a bit more round/less flat. It feels like I have a couple comfortable spots, but less flat area to slide around than the Carbonio. I wonder whether on a longer ride (50-60+ miles) this would be more wearing. Also the padding that is there is less plush than the Carbonio by a small amount.

It's a tradeoff because I do think it relieves some pressure on the soft regions, but gives me less comfort on the sit bones and fewer positions. I'm going to ride it for longer rides and give it a few weeks before making up my mind. Hope this helps.

Exactly that is the reason why I commented on your saddle.

I used to ride on an older type Fizik Pavé. That's the saddle that came with the bike and I rode that bike just like that for years without asking more questions.

Some years ago, when I did upgrade my bike from 9 to 10 speed, and changed pedals, I had to remove the seatpost to transport the bike to the workshop, I probably put the saddle higher that the usual, also, anyway I rode like that without questioning, but I was having pressure, numbing and pain problems that I chose to ignore.

Bad decision, I developed a strong pudendal nerve imflammation, to the point I couldn't ride or even seat on a chair for longer times, I went to the doctor, he strictely forbid me to ride. which I did, so I lost a full season. no road bike, no commuting, nothing, and sitting on a inflatable donnut at work.

After I started to ride again I went extreme and got the largest cutout saddle of that time, the just new Selle Italia SLC, rode with that large cutout and the saddle very tilted down, but it was a bad experience, as you describe, the edges of the cutout seemed to dig into and the contact patch was somewhat small, also when I went down on the drops the front edge of the cutout made preassure anyway so I went numb ater riding a while on that fixed position.

I was doing it wrong. I was just bending and tilting the torso forward to get low, and doing so I was crushing my genitals into the saddle and pushing down on soft tissue, with the large cutout that is somewhat minimized but still wrong, as your genitals tend to be "cupped-in" the hole and you have still the pressure in the edges.

Later, after receiving very good advice from racers, and experienced riders, I learned the right way to do things.

I learned to "sit right" on the saddle, like racers do, that is, I found a flatter saddle, set it up lower and level, and placed my seabones on that flatter area, while keeping the lower back the most perpendicular to the saddle, curve the upper back to get low. In this way you keep your genitals and soft tissues without preassure and you distribute the pressure on a larger flatter area on the saddle.

I haven't had problems since.

I still use a cutout saddle, the SLK which I like, because anyway due to fatigue I could do it wrong at some point in the ride. but I can ride on a non cutout SLR or flite with no problems or numbing anymore.

Thanks for the kind comments everyone, I really appreciate it. I am really loving this bike, can't wait to put more and more miles on it.

CONs-Edges of saddle have no padding or leather wrapped around, leaving edges sharp. If my legs graze the saddle (I tend to keep my knees close together when pedaling), which doesn't happen often, instead of rubbing against soft fabric, they rub against sharp/brittle carbon/plastic/whatever.

SLR destroyed me for several years. After a change to Arione Carbon CX I have no problems at all.

SalsaLover -- Thanks for relaying your story. I especially like the way you've described learning to sit in the saddle properly. I luckily am familiar with riding as you describe, and have very few problems generally while riding, especially on short rides. The problem comes on long (2 hour+) efforts or extremely bumpy roads (which is most here in Chicago area). In those cases I've sometimes developed discomfort due to poor form that develops with fatigue, longer than normal time in the saddle, or uncontrolled pressure from bumps/jolts that push in areas I can't control.

With the SLR Kit Carbonio, I found it extremely easy to ride and find comfortable spots to position myself, but little pressure relief on soft tissue when long rides/poor form due to fatigue/bumps and jolts introduce pressure that I can't really control. What I like in a saddle is not having to worry a great deal about the chance that if my form slips, I hit a unanticipated bump, etc... I'm going to have discomfort or soft tissue pain/numbness.

Since my last post, I've been on another longer ride with the Tekno Flow. I'm getting more accustomed to it, and it's really feeling good. I'm much less concerned about the pressure on sit bones, and I've had no problems with discomfort on soft tissue due to the usual reasons discussed above, which is great.

The problem with the "sharp edges" on the outer perimeter of the saddle rubbing my knees was just an initial reaction and I think it was more in my head than anything. I didn't even notice the edges on the last ride. I did not have any problems with the edges of the inner cutout or have any problems finding support for my sit bones.

The other saddles that have worked for me are romin/toupes. If the Tekno doesn't work out for long efforts I'll just switch back to a toupe. I have an s-works and a pro, both seem to be good for me. I know a specialized on a colnago isn't all italian, but you have to be comfortable first and foremost.

Saddles are such an individual thing, and everyone has their own preferences, so this is all probably a pointless aside. Anyway, I appreciate your input Salsa.

Edit: Well maybe the saddle. Personally I grew up with saddles like the Turbo / Rolls etc so something with holes in the 80mm wide just looks wrong and a bad idea if you ever ride in the rain. Nearest nowadays with reasonable weight is the Prologo scratch. I did try other saddles with cutouts, lighter weight etc often they were fine over 5 hour rides, but the scratch is just a bit better and looks like a saddle should.

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